Door-operating mechanism.



G. B. KOHLER.

000R OPERATING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED APR.9, I913.

Lgggfi'mov V Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

' I 5 wmm/ G. B. KOHLER.

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APILQ. 194-3.

LQQQJWQD Patented Apr. 17,1917.

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4'0 520 9615 uKkZem- UN STATES GEORGE B. KOI-ILER, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGN TO THE J". G. BRILL COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENIIS VANIA.

YL'VANIA, A CORPORATION GL PENNSYL- Application filed April 9, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. Konnnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Door-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in mechanism for opening and closing pivoted doors, especially the doors of passenger cars, which are opened and closed from a given point by the conductor or motorman. The invention can be used either with or without a step. When a step is at the side of the car, the mechanism for opening the door raises the step into and out of position.

The object of my invention is to simplify the construction of the door operating mechanism, locating the mechanism entirely under the platform in the present instance and using a single cam for operating either door.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1, is a plan view of one end of a passenger car, with the platform partly broken away, illustrating my improved door operating mechanism;

Fig. 2, is a sectional view on the line a-a, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, is a perspective view illustrating the cams and connecting rods;

Fig. 1, is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the two cams on the line a-a, Fig. 1;

Fig. 5, is an inverted plan view of the cam for operating the step; and

Figs. 6 and 7, are diagram views illustrating the door cam in two different positions.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the body of a passenger car. 2 is the platform. 3 and 4: are the doors at one side of the platform. These doors may be either at the forward end of the platform, where the conductor or the motorman who operates them is stationed, or they may be mounted on the rear platform of a car and actuated by the conductor at that end. The invention is applicable to cars of either type. In the present instance the doorway extends the full length of the platform and the ingress passageway is separated from the egress passageway by a vertical post 5 and a rail 6. The device, in this case, is operated by the conductor.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1'17, 191%". Serial no. 759,980.

At or about the center of the platform is a vertical shaft -7 mounted in a bearing 8 in the floor 9 of the platform and a hearing 10 on the rail 6. This shaft has an opera 'ng handle 11 of the ordinary type and pr -er ably mounted on the handle is a catch which looks the handle in one position, and secured to the lower end of the shaft is a cam 12 which controls the door operating mechanism. The latch may be dispensed with, but is preferably used on passenger cars to lock the doors in the closed position.

The door 3 is mounted on a vertical pivot rod 13. This door is made in two sections, in the present instance, connected together by hinges and the outer section is guided at its upper end so that the doors fold, as illustrated in dotted lines, Fig. 1, but a single door may be used without departing from the essential features of the invention.

It will be noticed in the drawings that each pivot rod for the door is set back some distance from the vestibule post, so that, when the door is turned on its pivot, the rear end of the door extends into the space between the post and the pivot rod so that the door will not extend beyond the step at the side of the car to such an extent as to be objectionable.

Secured to the lower end of the pivot rod 13 is an arm 14, located below the platform and connected to this arm is a rod 15 provided with a head 16 having an elongated slot therein. This shaft 7 extends through this slot, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, and on the head is a pin 17 which projects into the slot 40 of the cam so that, when the cam is moved, longitudinal movement is imparted to the head 16 and the door is opened or closed. The pin, in the present instance, has a roller mounted thereon as shown.

18 is a vertical pivot rod to which the door 4: is attached, and on the rod is an arm 19 to which the rod 20 is connected. lhe rod 20 has a head 21 in which is an elongated slot through which the shaft 7 extends. Projecting from the head 21 is a pin 22, which extends into the slot 10 of the cam, so that, when the cam is turned, the rod is moved longitudinally and the door 42 is opened or closed.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the head 16 is located above the head 21 and on the shaft 7 is a loose collar 23 which extends into both slots. This collar may, in some instances, form part of the cam. The cam is so proportioned that when it is in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 both pins 17 and 22 are in the outer concentric portion of the cam and both doors are in the closed position. As illustrated in the drawings, the slot in the cam is of the same contour on each side of the center line through the cam. By main ing the cam as shown one door is opened in advance of the other when the cam is turned in one direction. For instance, if'the cam is turned in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, then the ingress door 3 is opened in advance of the egress door a and after the ingress door is opened then the egress door is opened without further movement of the ingress door. If the cam is turned in the direction opposite to that of the arrow then the egress door is opened first and the in gress door will follow. When it is desired to open both doors, the cam is turned the full half revolution, but when it is turned a quarter revolution it will cause one door to open while the other door remains in the closed position. 7

Thus I make an exceedingly simple and effective device operated by a single shaft which, when turned, will open or close one or both doors. The opening and closing will not be simultaneous, however, one will follow the other, making it much easier for the operator than where both doors are opened simultaneously.

Vi here a step is used in connection with the doors, then I provide a cam 24, which is located directly under the cam 12 and mounted on the same shaft 7. The slot in this cam is formed as shown in Fig. 5.

25 is a single step located directly under both doors at the side of the car. This step is pivoted to a bracket 26 and on this pivot is an arm 27 to which is connected a rod 28 attached at 29 to a sliding slotted bar 30 adapted to suitable bearings on the underside of the car platform. A spring 31 on each extension of this bar is located between the bearing 32 and a head 33 on the extension.

34: is a pin on the bar which extends into the slot on the cam 24. The cam is so shaped that on the first movement of the shaft 17 in either direction, the step 25 will be lowered, and it is so proportioned that, when the doors are in the open position, the step will not be raised until the doors are closed, or partly closed, according to the set and shape of the cams.

In order to lock the doors in the closed position and the step in the raised position, I notch the cam 12 at 35, so that the two pins 17 and 22 will rest in these notches when the doors are closed, and I also notch the cam While I have illustrated in the drawings a particular form of cam, which will operate to open and close the doors in the manner set forth when located in substantially the position illustrated, a different form of cam may be used for accomplishing the same purpose without departing from the essential feature of the invention.

The handle, as remarked above, has a latch 37 pivoted thereto, which engages a keeper 38 on the rail 6 in the present instance, so that, when the handle 11 is turned and the latch engages the keeper 38, the pins 22 and 17 are in their respective notches 35 and the pin 3 1 is in the notch 36; looking the door in the closed position and the step in the raised position. 7

It will be seen by my invention that I am enabled to use a single step in front of two doors and that the step will be moved into position on the first movement of either door, so as to give a broad step for passengers to enter or to leave the car and will avoid the liability of a passenger missing the step, which sometimes occurs when a narrow step is used at each door.

The invention can be carried out to operate a single door and a step, but usually, in passenger cars, there are two doors and a step common to both doors.

I claim 1. In a passenger car, the combination of two passageways arranged side by side; a door for each passageway; a single operating shaft; mechanism connecting the shaft with each of said doors so that when the shaft is moved in either direction one of the doors will be opened, while the other will remain closed, according to the direction of movement of the operating shaft.

2. The combination of two doors; a single operating shaft for both doors; and means connecting the shaft with the doors so that, when the shaft is given a partial movement in one direction, one door will be opened whilethe other will remain closed, and, on the complete movement of the shaft, both doors will be opened, one following'the other in its movement. 7

3. The combination in a passenger car, of entrance and exit doors; a vertical shaft located within the car some distance from the doors; a connection between each door and the operating shaftso constructed that when the shaft is turned in one direction one door will be opened while the other remains closed and on the continued movement in either direction both doors will be opened.

4. The combination in a passenger car, of an entrance door and an exit door located side by side and at one side of the car; a vertical shaft centrally located with respect to the doors; a cam on the shaft; and means actuated by the cam and connected to each door so that when the shaft is turned in one direction one door will be opened in advance of the other and on the continued movement both doors will be opened.

5. The combination in a passenger car, of independent entrance and exit doors arranged side by side and on one side of the car; a vertical shaft mounted within the car and centrally located with respect to the doors; connections between the shaft and each door so that when the shaft is partially turned in one direction one door will be opened while the other remains closed and when turned the full movement both doors will be opened.

6. The combination in a passenger car, of independent entrance and exit doors at one side of the car; a shaft located some dis tance from the doors; a cam on the shaft; means actuated by the camfor operating the doors, the shape of the cam on each side of the center line therethrough being the same so that, when the shaft is partially turned in one direction, one door will be opened while the other will remain closed, and, on the continued movement of the shaft, both doors will be moved to the open position.

7. The combination of two doors; a shaft; a cam on the shaft, said cam having a groove therein, the shape of the groove on each side of the center line of the cam being identical; rods connected to the doors and having pins entering the groove in the cam so that, when the shaft is turned in either direction, one door will be opened in advance of the other, and, on the continued movement, the doors will be fully opened.

8. The combination of two doors; a vertical pivot rod for each door; an arm on each pivot rod; an operating shaft; a cam on said shaft, said cam having a groove; a portion of which is concentric; a rod connected to each arm and having a pin projecting into the groove of the cam, the groove being so formed that, when the cam is turned, first one door and then the other door will be opened.

9. The combination of two doors; a vertical rod to which each door is secured; an arm on each vertical rod; an operating shaft; a handle thereon; a cam on the operating shaft having a single groove therein; two rods, each having a slotted head; and an operating rod extending through the slots in the heads, each head having a pin projecting into the groove in the cam, one rod being attached to the arm of one door and the other rod being attached to the arm on the other door.

10. The combination of an operating shaft; a cam having a single cam-way therein; a wall of the cam-way having two notches therein; two doors; pivot rods for the doors; an arm on each pivot rod; a rod connected to each arm; a slotted head on the opposite'end of each rod spanning the operating shaft; a pin on each head entering the cam-way and resting in the notches when the doors are closed; a handle on the operating shaft; a latch on the handle; and a keeper with which the latch engages so as to lock the cam when the doors are closed.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE B. KOHLER. Witnesses:

WM. E. Sirorn, WM. A. BARR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

